Jamestown Colonies

The basis of the colonies beginning with the founding of Jamestown until the start of the Revolutionary War, various area of the eastern coast had different traditional values. Once established, the thirteen British colonies could be separated into three physical areas: New England, Middle, and Southern. Each of these had certain economic, social, and political growths that were distinctive to the territories. European nations came to the Americas to boost their wealth and expand their influence over world affairs. The first enduring British colony was established in Jamestown in the Chesapeake Bay region by the Virginia Company. To honor the memory of Elizabeth I, the never married “Virgin Queen” the company’s directors named the region …show more content…
The area wasn’t known for good farmland. Therefore, the farms were small, and mainly used to provide food for individual families. New England flourished instead with fishing, shipbuilding, lumbering, and fur trading along with trading goods with Europe. In New England, small towns were the center of local government. In 1643, Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven formed the New England Confederation to provide defense against Indians, Dutch, and the French. This was the first attempt to form a union between colonies. A group of Massasoit Indians organized under King Philip to fight the colonist. King Philip’s War lasted from 1675-1678. The Indians were finally defeated at a great loss. The Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689 began a new era in politics of both England and its American colonies. It caused a rebellion in Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York. The new monarchs broke up the disastrous Dominion of New England and allowed Massachusetts and New York to resume self-government. They also created a new body, the Board of Trade, to oversee colonial affairs. England embarked on an era sometimes called the “Second Hundred Years War”, (pg.75) which lasted until the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in …show more content…
The New York area was first settled by the Dutch West India Co. in 1664. The result of this was a strong trading economy like the Netherlands. Along with this came many Dutch customs that remained even after the English took control of the New Netherlands, the name given to New York City. One significant event that happened in the Middle Colonies during the colonial period was the Zenge Trial in 1735. John Peter Zenger was arrested for writing against the royal governor of New York. Zenger was defended by Andrew Hamilton and found not guilty for helping to establish the idea of freedom of the

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